A single trading session captured the market’s schizophrenia in full. The Nasdaq 100 surged into Monday’s open, then collapsed — erasing all gains and more — as the chasm between its daily high and low stretched to over 1,100 points. The violent reversal came on the heels of a 5% rout on Friday, leaving investors to weigh a thicket of competing signals: red-hot jobs data, spiking bond yields, escalating Middle East tensions, and a parade of blockbuster corporate events that, for once, failed to provide a safety net.
The macro picture has darkened swiftly. The US economy added 172,000 jobs in May, more than double the consensus forecast, a blow to hopes that the Federal Reserve would soon ease policy. The 10-year Treasury yield responded by leaping to 4.54%, its highest level in weeks. Add a flare-up in the Middle East — military strikes that sent capital scurrying into gold and the dollar — and the ingredients for a tech sell-off were all in place. Defensive names such as Colgate-Palmolive and Coca-Cola posted solid gains, a classic rotation out of growth and into safety.
Against this storm, the tech sector’s own catalysts struggled for traction. Nvidia announced sweeping partnerships in Seoul with SK Hynix and SK Telecom to build new data centers, yet its shares fell 6.2% on the day. Peers Micron, AMD and Qualcomm fared even worse, each shedding more than 9% in the broad semiconductor rout. Meta also came under heavy fire after reports surfaced that it might pursue a multibillion-dollar capital increase to fund AI projects, spooking shareholders. Meanwhile, the two headline events that could have steadied the ship — Apple’s long-awaited AI strategy reveal at its WWDC conference and the proposed $75 billion SpaceX initial public offering — remain pending, their potential support yet to materialize.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying NASDAQ 100?
Chart watchers see a market parked at a critical juncture. After Friday’s close at 28,774 points, the index tested support at 28,570 on Monday, a level that held but now leaves little room for error. The Relative Strength Index has slid to 42.2, signaling that the recent rally has cooled significantly, and the 50-day moving average lurks near 28,235. A break below that would open the door to the 28,300 area. To the upside, the zone between 29,000 and 29,300 now forms a formidable resistance ceiling — one that would require a decisive shift in sentiment to breach.
That shift hinges on Wednesday’s inflation report. The US government will release May’s consumer price data, with core inflation expected to tick up to 4.0%. A hotter-than-anticipated print would almost certainly trigger another wave of selling, pushing the index toward its next technical floor. But a downside surprise — a reading that eases inflation fears — could reignite the relief rally and set a target near 29,675 points. For now, the Nasdaq 100 remains locked in a tug-of-war between macro gravity and tech gravity, with the next big move likely decided by a single number.
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